2014 KickStart off to great start

DIGICEL KICKSTART CLINICS OFF TO A GREAT START

May 6th 2014 - - Chelsea FC Foundation coaches pick Jamaica’s top three players who will attend the Digicel Academy

Senior International Development Officer for the Chelsea FC Foundation and Digicel KickStart Clinics Head Coach, David Monk, praised the high quality of footballing talent he saw at the KickStart Clinics held in Jamaica last week and hopes this trend continues for the rest of the 2014 programme.

Jamaica was the first stop on the 14-country tour which will see David and his team of coaches training the Caribbean and Central American region’s best youth players. Monk spoke of the new elements that were added to this year’s Clinics including increased training time with the boys as well as, for the first time in the history of the programme, an under-16 girls training session.

He said; “We thoroughly enjoyed working with the boys in Jamaica as well as with the under-16 girls. The programme continues to go from strength to strength with more countries participating in the Clinics giving aspiring young footballers the chance to make their dreams a reality. We are now hosting a session for female footballers as part of the schedule for the first time – a strong testament to the programme’s consistent growth since it launched in 2007.”

With the start of the 2014 programme, David and his team were excited to find a new crop of talented footballers who will go to Barbados for the Digicel Academy in October. When asked about his expectations of the Jamaica Clinics, Monk liked how the boys maintained a high level of professionalism, saying “With last year’s MVP for the Digicel Academy from Jamaica, our expectations were very high coming into the two-day Clinics and we were not disappointed. They were well composed, professional and worked hard to showcase their talent during the Clinics. The boys definitely made it hard for us to choose the top three as they all demonstrated great potential and were all worthy of attending the Academy. However, we had to make a choice and we are confident that the boys we picked will give a good account of themselves at the Academy in October.”

The team is currently in Trinidad and Tobago where it will host the country’s top 30 boys and under-16 girls for the Clinics.

KickStart Clinics Schedule

Jamaica: Completed

Trinidad and Tobago: Monday 5th May – Wednesday 7th May

Bermuda: Friday 9th May – Sunday 11th May

Cayman: Wednesday 14th May – Friday 16th May

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Monday 19th May – Wednesday 21st May

Haiti: Saturday 24th May – Monday 26th May

Suriname: Wednesday 28th May – Friday 30th May

Panama: Monday 2nd June – Wednesday 4th June

Antigua and Barbuda: Friday 6th June – Sunday 8th June

St. Lucia: Tuesday 10th – Thursday 12th June

St. Kitts and Nevis: Monday 16th June – Wednesday 18th June

Dominica: Friday 20th June – Sunday 22nd June

Grenada: Friday 20th June – Sunday 22nd June

Barbados: October 2014

The Digicel KickStart Clinics – now in their eighth year – will again see thousands of aspiring young footballers from across 14 countries in the Caribbean and Central America try out for their chance to travel to the Digicel Academy in Barbados and train under top coaches from Barclays Premier League side, Chelsea FC.

During the week-long Digicel Academy, the top 42 boys from across the region get the chance of a lifetime to receive intensive training under coaches from Barclays Premier League side, Chelsea Football Club.

Digicel Group Limited is a leading global communications provider with operations in 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. After 13 years of operation, total investment to date stands at over US$4.5 billion worldwide. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams and individuals including the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt and Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel also sponsors the West Indies cricket team.